Tricks
As with any platformer that is movement and maneuver-based, N has tricks. Lots of them, which you would have to master (or at least understand how to do in theory, since they are hard to master) if you plan to go for good highscores. Here are some of the tricks that are used by more experienced players. Corner jump The corner jump is an advanced trick, and obviously rather difficult to pull off. What happens is that the Ninja jumps off a corner, and uses the corner to jump a great distance at good speed. Note that nearly everything that is a corner or resembles a sharp point can be used to corner jump, for example: *Off a corner of a tile. About a billion examples, but refer to Melchoir79's 11-0: Frogger run since the jump occurs early on. *Off a locked door. See any of the scores on 00-4: Lockness. *Off a trapdoor. See any of the scores on 82-0: Leap Of Faith by Castaway. *Off a vertical spike. See any run on 80-0: Jumping up the Valley by Eli and Pokemaniac1342's run on 78-1: Craterrific. *You can also corner jump off a thwump or a bounceblock, but because of its inconsistancy, it is rarely done. An excellent example of a thwump corner jump is clux's 70-0 0th (saves more than one second!). There are several variations of the corner jump, and below are the variations listed in order of difficulty (well, to most people anyway). Normal Corner jump The simplest kind of corner jump. (Well, it's the simplest type of corner jump, but no corner jump is simple to pull off). To do it, jump towards a corner from pretty much any angle. When your contact the corner, you will have just one frame (0.025 seconds) to press jump again while continuing forward. If you succeed, you will be propelled forward in the direction you approached the corner at great speed. If you fail, you'll trip on the corner just waste time. See the first corner jump in jg9000's score on 62-3: Squared for a basic normal corner jump. The two corner jumps required to highscore 82-0 are normal corner jumps off of a trap door. Reverse corner jump The reverse corner jump is basically a corner jump that jumps backwards. To do it, follow the same direction as above, but release all directional keys while pressing jump when you are touching the corner. If you succeed, you should jump backwards to a good height. If you miss, you'll fall off the corner. See the second corner jump in jg9000's score on 62-3: Squared to see this trick used. http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c133/Ngaged/t.jpg *''62-3: Squared'' Falling corner jump The most challenging type of corner jump to pull off. You must fall from a high place, and right when you hit the corner of a tile, you must jump. It's very hard to pull it off consistantly, but with practice and patience, you should be able to get it. This technique is being used more recently in the highscores, using Seifer's 80-0 run as an example. http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c133/Ngaged/t2.jpg *''80-0: Jumping up the Valley by Eli'' Exit glitch Usually, glitches in the game make players confused and angry, because they usually mess people up while they're playing. However, there is one glitch that can really help you out if you're going for highscores, if the circumstances are right. If you have any kind door in front of an open exit, or a oneway platform for that matter, you can simply touch the object and you'll end up touching the exit in the process, earning you victory. So, in some levels, you don't have to get all of the switches! Double bounceblock jump A relatively easy trick in which timing is key. To execute, push a bounceblock, either by falling onto it or running/jumping into it. When it is at it's most stretched point, press the jump key twice. If you only jump once, the block will spring back up quickly. This gives you the extra propulsion when you jump twice. Because of its effeciency, it is used on many levels by highscorers. It can be done from the top or either side. A while ago, tktktk made a post on the Metanet_Software_Forums publicizing the "triple" and "quadruple jump". Same thing as double jump, except you tap jump three or four times. The triple bounceblock jump only a bit harder to do than the double. The quadruple bounce block jump, however, is nearly impossible to do without frame-by-frame. It is also only possible to do it off the side of a bounceblock. Top Fall onto the bounceblock and jump twice at it's lowest point. You will be propelled much higher into the air. Be careful of where you land, though. If you fall from too great a height, you may find yourself in limbs on the floor. See any of the highscores on 10-2: Don't look down or 22-2: Sumo to see this done. Side Approach a bounceblock from the side and run and jump into it. When it starts to come back, press jump twice. You will be propelled much farther. See johnny_faneca's score for 43-4: Rob n hood to see this trick used. Falling angle survival If you slip from a high place, you might think you're done for. Actually, it's possible to survive. If you land just right on a slope, not too hard, then you will slide off the slope and live. Also, if you fall right onto the corner of a tile, or any kind of door, for that matter, it is possible for you to be blasted off the corner and live. This technique is used numerous times in highscoring. http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c133/Ngaged/OPi.jpg *''40-2: Orbital station'' Hovering Another basic trick. You simply jump against a ceiling, and hold on to your jump button. The ninja will "hover" against the ceiling for a short period of time. You could use this to clear slightly larger distances, or to stay in air slightly longer to avoid enemies. Launchpad high jump One of the easier tricks to pull in N, this is also very useful and rather satisfying to see. 00-0: The Motherlode's scores all feature this trick, at the very beginning of the level. To do the launchpad high jump, simply fall (while next to but not hanging on a wall) towards a launchpad that is next to that wall. As you hit the launchpad, press the directional key that is towards the wall. You will jump straight up, really high, a lot higher than with a normal launchpad jump. A variation can be seen on 28-3 Death Star's scores, where the highscorers jump all the way left instead. To do this, simply do as a normal launchpad high jump, but press the other directional key. Be careful while attempting this trick, because although it may be easy to pull off, it could be deadly. If there is a tile in the way of your jumping path, you may just crash into it and kill yourself in the process. Oneway Platform Glitch There are many types of glitches involving oneway platforms. The main glitch exploited is when these objects are facing downwards. It is possible for you to jump through them. While walljumping, jump into the corner of the oneway platform and the wall, and if you get it right, you will jump through the platfourm. This glitch is exploited quite often by highscorers in 20-1: Nexus. http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c133/Ngaged/t11.jpg *''20-1: Nexus'' Another glitch used is when there is a non-natural angle of tiles near the oneway. For instance, a slope going through a downwards-facing one-way can make the one-way passable by going up a slope. Another example is when there are a floor of one-ways, placing a slope below and walking very slowly will allow you to 'tip' over the one-ways and end up on the other side of the slope. Finally, if a tile is placed 1/2 of a space from a one-way, running into the tile will allow you to drop through. Gold delay can also let you through a one-way. If you place a piece of gold 1/4 of a space below the one-way, you will drop through. You can also place a row of one-ways, and edit the code of one to be able to drop through. To do this, change the code of a one-way with the code "7^300,324,3" to "7^300,324.01,3" to make a space between that one-way and the adjacent one-ways. It will appear to be on the same level as the otehr one-ways, but if you run over the one-way, you will slip through. Using one-ways, you can make an invisible surface on perpendicular to an adjecent wall. If you place the one-way inside the wall, it will be unseen, but its surface will still work. This is especially useful if you want to scale a wall without walljumping. If you are pushed by a thwump or bounceblock, it can push you through a one-way. However, if you are pushed up, you have to jump to get through the wall. A launchpad placed close enough to a one-way platform can also push you through. If you are moving extremely quickly left, right, or up, a one-way can stop you without killing you. If you place two up-facing one-ways 132 pixels apart, you can go through the lower one-way by falling from the higher one-way. This is said to be the strangest one-way glitch in the game. Finally, if you place an NaN on the last number in the code of a one-way, it appears to face upwards, but will act as if it's facing downwards. Perpendicular leap The perpendicular leap is a very easy trick to master and is referred to in the N Help section of the game, under Jumping 2. Normally when the ninja presses jump when running onto a slope he goes forwards fairly normally. However if you stop holding the 'uphill' arrow key and jump, the ninja will jump perpendicular to the slope he is on. This also works if you change direction and quickly jump. This technique must be used to complete 88-1: Twisted by Killisk. http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c133/Ngaged/t7.jpg *''88-1: Twisted by Killisk'' Thwump Techniques Though thwumps may be deadly enemies, they may also help you out in a level. You can jump on top of them for a ride, or behind them. Or you may use them to propel yourself through the air. With these, you can perform a varety of tricks. Thwump Riding A very simple technique. You just jump on top of a thwump going horizontal, and follow its movement. If it is going to the left, you go left. If it goes to the right, you go right. You will have to use this technique in 37-3: Cubish, in the very beginning of the level. You may also get behind a thwump and catch a ride, but you'll only stay on if you keep jumping on it. A technique used in 86-3: Pressed for time by Lucidium. http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c133/Ngaged/t9.jpg *86-3: Pressed for time by Lucidium'' And if a thwump is coming up after shooting downwards towards you, you can also jump on top of it to catch a ride. Thwump Propulsion When the back side of a thwump pushes the ninja against another surface (a tile, or the back side of another thwump for example), two things can happen. The sad possibility: you die. The interesting possibility: if you aren't stupid enough to be dead smack center of the thwump, you may instead be pushed in some random direction. With lots of precision and practice, this direction may be controlled. See top scores on 84-0: Opposing forces by coldcut to see this technique used. http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c133/Ngaged/t10.jpg *''84-0: Opposing forces by coldcut'' However, since there is a good chance you don't have a combination of practice, precision, and luck, which are needed to make this a viable technique, you are probably better off without this one, due to the random nature of thwump pushes. Triple jump The triple jump is used to jump much higher and faster than usual up a wall so that you can cover whatever vertical distance you need to cover within a shorter amount of time. See nearly every run on 29-0: Crossfire to see an example. To pull the triple jump, run towards a 45 degree angled slope at the base of any wall with a reasonable speed. Just prior to reaching the slope, tap your jump key three times and hold the button the 3rd time. You should see lots of dust at the slope, and that your ninja just went really high off the ground. The trick is that your second jump propels you off the slope, and the third launches you away from the wall. If you fail, a variety of things can happen but you can be assured that they are all time-wasters. This trick is also possible to perform on curved tiles next to a wall as shown by Mr_Lim's run on 11-4: Superliminal